


Leia's Got A Royal Headache

by butterflycollective



Category: Star Wars: New Republic Era - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Intrigue, Politics, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-07-08
Packaged: 2017-12-18 04:58:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/875872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflycollective/pseuds/butterflycollective
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Empire's defeated, the celebratory parties are over so what's Princess Leia and her friends to do when reality and hangovers hit the day after...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Princess Leia Organa glanced around the hut where she and her boyfriend, Han Solo had been slumming in order to recover from both the destruction of the Empire and the two day celebration which followed.

She wasn't sure yet which event would require a longer time to get over

After all the liquor had been flowing as freely at the endless party, as much so as the fireworks had been sparkling overhead to mark the day of independence just as they were throughout the galaxy. Leia hadn't been all that sure why wiping out Dark Vader and a few ships not to mention the Death Star II had ended the crippling hold of the massive Imperial forces throughout such a large expanse of space but somehow, there had been a domino effect on all the worlds that had been enslaved by Vader and his minions and people were celebrating in the streets en masse within hours of the destruction of the latest Death Star.

So she and Solo had celebrated for a while drinking the native brew which had a foul stench to it but once you got past that, it actually slid down the palate stroking the senses with a delicate, airy flavor. Not to mention that it packed quite a wallop as piles of both slumbering rebel soldiers and furry midgets could attest.

Solo had tried his best to get frisky with her when they finally did return to their hut after a final round of singing all 50 verses of the Coruscant national anthem while swigging a fresh brew.

"Not tonight, darling," she whispered while his hands had settled around her waist.

How could Han think about getting into her furry hand woven dress when she had so much to think about now that her inebriation receded in the face of cold, stark reality. Yes, the Empire had finally been defeated, the achievement of a life-long dream that it seemed had been fed and nurtured to her before she had even been lying in a cradle if that made any sense. Who would rule this embryonic coalition so that it could avoid so quickly sowing the seeds of corruption and graft that had led to its crumbling and eventual downfall in the first place? After all, the Empire hadn't conquered the galaxy in a single day or even week. No, it had done so piecemeal winning its most powerful battles earlier on in the morally adrift Senate rather than through unleashing its deadly machines and latest armies of clones onto planets across the galaxy.

They would need an emergency declaration of laws to establish at least a pro tem government with a ruling body and if possible, a charismatic, strong yet pliable individual to lead it through the difficult and dark early days. Leia had thought that her newly discovered twin brother, Luke would be just perfect for the role but he had arrived at the party late after cremating their sorry excuse for a father, Anakin what's his name who later in life had become Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith after apparently murdering their mother. Leave it to her sentimentalist brother who engaged in some rather questionable New Age practices with elderly men and odd looking gnomes, anything to get away from the more pragmatic side of winning a galactic war. Sure, he swooped in usually at the 11th hour and yes, he usually wound up saving the day whether it was blowing up the first Death Star or well, doing…something on the Death Star II before Lando and Wedge had blown it to kingdom come. Something about defeating an Emperor…Palpatine…which was silly because everyone knew the guy had disappeared years ago and hadn't been seen since or at least there hadn't been any reliable sightings.

She could try persuading him to fill the shoes of the leader of the new Alliance which would lead to something more permanent only after years and perhaps even decades of hard work. Leia had already resigned herself to realizing that a trip to Coruscant, a place she loathed for its amorality and tacky architecture design was inevitable. She couldn't think of any other suitable seats for the new Alliance government. After all, Alderaan was clearly out for obvious reasons. All those historic and stately buildings etched as part of the magnificent mountain ranges that defined the planet blown into oblivion by one selfish act of the man who turned out to be her father.

Okay so maybe she did have a lot of decision making in her future and a boyfriend who clearly had his priorities mixed up but maybe she could park them for just a few minutes at least until she could figure out how to persuade Luke to do as she asked. After all, he was a national hero and a Jedi to boot, and members of that long defunct order were now the hottest tickets in the galaxy. Enrollment at a proposed Jedi School had been in huge demand even if there was only one Jedi left in the entire universe to provide instruction. She thought the vows to humility, passive resistance until attacked and the real killer, chastity would dissuade the parents who wanted their kids to be "like Luke" as the motto went on Gala-vision.

Thank the Rebellion and all it stood for that the Ewoks apparently didn't think much of electricity and modern technology so she had been spared exposure to the massive commercialism which had emerged quickly after the last Empire Star Destroyer had been blown up.

So Leia had taken a few days to reflect, totally unheard of for her and had spent time hiking and riding those speeders weaving through the trees that disappeared into the clouds before they topped out. Wicket had become like her tour guide and had shown her most of the forest moon of Endor. The little guys had taken such good care of her since she had first encountered Wicket. Dressing her up in cute little medieval looking dresses and providing her with the best food, okay so she had nearly been served up cuisine looking suspiciously like her friends but the accommodations had been lovely.

The hut she stayed in had been the nicest of those built within the statuesque trees where the population of Ewoks lived quietly under occupation by the Empire's forces until the rebellion interrupted the quiet truce between the residents on the Endor moon.

But Leia found it to be the most peculiar of moons because usually they represented satellites that revolved around a singular planet although if there were a planet that these moons clustered around, it had been rendered invisible at some point. Still if there wasn't an Alliance to build into a viable political and social movement, she could easily think about settling down here.

No, she didnt' but she almost convinced herself of that anyway.

Han Solo looked at his cards, his head still pounding from all the quaff he had imbibed in the past few days. The endless tap had finally been shut off, the music silenced and the skies darkened as everyone finally passed out from exhaustion for several days. He hadn't been tired at all and had been so interested in getting it on with Leia once he discovered that she couldn't get it on with Luke because they were brother and sister. Okay that had been a little weird and Han had been convinced there had been a back story to that relationship but his primary thought was that he finally had the princess to himself since that time they had spent with Luke dodging some slimy creature in the trash compactor inside the first Death Star.

It hadn't been love then, he wasn't all that sure it was now, because war, well it brought out more intense emotions in those who participated and now that peace had developed for the first time in his complicated relationship with Leia, who knew what lay ahead? But damnations, she was incredibly beautiful, her long tresses interwoven with braids and ribbons hung down her back, her face so innocent and yet so knowing at the same time.

Han figured the girl hadn't been around the block too many times so she wouldn't have much to judge him on involving his bedside manner and she looked perfectly willing at the party but since then…the weight of not just one world but that of the entire galaxy appeared to be on her slender shoulders. So she had become so busy talking with Mon Mothma over the tele-link the past day or so doing conference calls with other former Senate leaders who had been exiled or incarcerated on various planets.

Nothing like shacking up with a princess and a politician to boot.

So he and Chewbacca his right hand furry man had taken to playing poker with the grounded pilots awaiting their new assignments to provide security to the more unruly areas of the galaxy so that no man nor alien species could taken advantage of the confusion of conquest and succession for monetary or political gain. Luke was supposed to join them for at least a little while but he had taken off again…quietly without telling anyone. Leia who had this peculiar communication style with him said that he had gone off to the other side of the planet to fast and mediate. Han had just shrugged never being able to figure Luke out since he had discovered religion.

The only religion that Han had ever practiced had to do with money and though his service in the rebellion had softened him up a bit, he still kept his eyes out for the perfect deal and a post-empire world would be filled with them, opportunities to make money…of course a certain percentage…say 10 percent of all gains would go to the cause. But as for the rest, his ship needed repairs because Lando had come close to trashing it on his approach to nuking the Death Star II. Chewbacca had lamented about the hyper drive again, the damn thing always seemed to be on the blink since he hooked up with this bunch and given that the only legitimate market now was the black market, replacements didn't come cheap.

So if he didn't win major earnings in the next couple of hands, Han would have to think of other ways to make money…and that might mean hunting down that business card that a woman back on Coruscant's underworld had given him to do a modeling job for her. She had been putting together a collection of photographs, all taken with an artist's care and vision emphasizing taste over tacky or so she had promised. But the job did involve removing a couple items of clothing….

No, he couldn't do it, no matter how much he needed the money, not if he was hanging with a princess who would have a finger on the pulse of the brand new Alliance. How would it look if photos taken of him when…well it wouldn't look good if days before she hit the stage to deliver a stately address across the galaxy that revealing photos were plastered all over the gala-vision and elsewhere titled, "Princess Consort Has No Clothes".

He ran his hand through his hair, thinking of what he needed to do instead, something that didn't involve stealing, grifting or taking his clothes off or all three at once.

"Oooommmmm…"

The sound resonated through the crisp, clear air of the far side of the forest moon. The man sat in lotus position dressed in a dark robe that draped over his head, shadowing his face.

Luke Skywalker had joined his friends at the party after entombing his father in flames and scattering the ashes in the winds across the galaxy that he had conquered instead of protecting. The vision that Luke had of Anakin with Yoda and Obi-wan had reassured him that his father's expulsion from the Jedi Order had been in itself revoked by a last ditch good deed by a father to save his son from first his own fate, and then death.

His father, and now a sister, named Leia. The woman he had once fallen in love with and shared a couple of kisses with…but he tried not to think too much about that.

Leia still hadn't forgiven her father and still believed him a loser and that Bail Organa had been her true father and Vader (which she still called him) had wiped out her father when he wiped out Alderaan. Leia would just have to come around but Luke knew she was just stubborn about certain things. A part of him rejoiced that they were members of the same family and had shared a womb together but another part…well had been less than thrilled to find out that the woman he had loved would be out of his reach.

Not that she hadn't found love with Han though he knew the ex-pirate had his work cut out for him because her allegiance would be first to the Alliance and to any man in her life second…but of course she would spend her remaining time with the man who had captured her heart. Would they marry? Probably not because Leia being raised as a princess in name if not by birth had customs that she had to adhere to and that meant she had to marry another member of a royal family out there …if one could be found.

Han would have to face reality when that happened and just enjoy the here and now. In fact, Luke as her brother had received requests for her hand in marriage by a couple men identifying themselves as members of royalty. Of course anyone could say that especially in a galaxy now in complete disarray but he would assign investigative droids to check out their claims before they would even be given permission to meet his sister.

As for himself, as a Jedi he had taken a vow of humility, passivity and chastity and thus couldn't marry or even have a girlfriend really. He didn't know how Yoda, Ben and his father…oh wait his father had screwed up on those vows including the last one and that had been his downfall…as well as the chain of events leading to his and Leia's birth.

The weight of the meaning behind that profound thought hit him and he took a deep breath deciding to meditate on it some more, at least until his mind cleared again.

And in the galaxy somewhere another Jedi struggled to find his way to the master….


	2. Chapter 2

Lando looked at his best friend and former smuggling partner Han as they settled down at the makeshift bar on the forest moon of Endor that had formally housed an Imperial surveillance station.

Wicket had gotten some of his best mates together to concoct some especially potent brew that they had then stashed away later selling it to the bar which then sold it to the two former pirates. Their asking price had been rather high, Han thought, but he and Lando, they had really needed to kick back after all this hard work of figuring out how to rebuild a republic and relax a bit with some good brew. The prohibition rule issued by Darth Vader who feared that any liquor would rust his nonhuman parts had been abolished with the Empire and impromptu bars and pubs were popping up like mushrooms all over the rustic planet. The impact of the freely flowing alcohol on the Ewok population had led to widespread inebriation so their loosely formed ad hoc government had essentially shut down for an indefinite time.

Han had admired the little guys for their enterprising abilities but no wonder it had been so easy for the Empire's minions to take advantage of them and seize control of their remote planet given their weakness for gambling and moonshine alcohol. He and Lando had been drinking up a storm all afternoon while Han had mulled through his offers of employment including no less than six smuggling runs not to mention that offer to pose with his blaster and not much else by that steamy magazine. Chewbacca hadn't had much sympathy for his plight given that he rarely if ever wore clothing and didn't know why the admittedly hairless humans got themselves in a snit over it.

Why would anyone pay a hairless being money to pose naked, Chewbacca had asked in his peculiar language.

Han had just walked away from him at that point.

"So what's on the itinerary for when we leave this joint?"

Han looked at Lando struck by his casual attitude, which surprised him because Lando had been forced to leave his business, Bespin after the Empire had foreclosed on it. But then no one could keep a slick businessman like him down for very long.

"I don't know…Leia's been working day and night on the plans for the new government," Han said, "to avoid the mistakes made last time."

Lando nodded, remembering those dark years.

"Well absolute power corrupts…absolutely as they say," he said, "Actually I read that in a fortune cookie somewhere but it's the truth."

Han couldn't argue with that after all, Palpatine had been a nice man and benevolent leader once…before he had been corrupted by power and seized control of the Senate before it dissolved. Luke had blamed it all on something called the force that had been tied in with the whole Jedi mythology but Han believed it had simply old fashioned greed behind the emperor's actions. Leia had told him stories about his visits to her family home when she had been growing up and he had been like an uncle to her and a close friend of her adoptive father. But how quickly things would turn…once someone started welding power and liking it too much. That had filled her eyes with sadness because the betrayals by those she had long admired…had been piling up over the years.

She didn't even want to get started on her real father and what a creep he had turned out to be but then Han figured that getting held prisoner and tortured by your own family to give up state secrets had to be quite a trip.

"So what's in the cards for you Lando?"

His buddy looked at his hand and laughed.

"I'm thinking of staying here and starting a tourist bureau," Lando said, "including treks out into the wilderness here to check out the battle sites…maybe make an arrangement for some of the Ewok villages to host some of my guests in their rustic accommodations."

Han lifted a brow.

"Are you serious about that?"

Lando shrugged.

"I'll have to do some focus studies and galactic surveys to certain types of demographic groups to determine whether there's enough interest but…it's not as if I can go back to my business."

No, Lando couldn't because even though the Empire that had confiscated it had fallen out of power, the bureaucratic process not to mention all the red tape would keep it tied up in limbo for years…possibly decades. By then it would be floating scrap metal.

"I have to make some money soon," Lando said, "What about you Han, I heard about those modeling jobs."

Han sighed.

"It all sounds tempting but if Leia becomes part of this new…alliance republic and if any of those photos slipped out…"

Lando grinned.

"Leia wouldn't be too pleased would she?"

"No I don't think so," Han said, "and we're still trying to get us all figured out…I mean for a while there, I thought she was in love with Luke but then she told me he was her brother…and so he's out of the picture but she's keeping me at arm's length."

Lando sighed, trying to act all serious even though Han's befuddlement nearly made him crack up.

"Han old body…Leia's an old fashioned girl steeped in all the pomp and tradition that's steeped in royalty. You need to give her time and remember even if King Bail Organa's dead, there's still a part of him that's speaking inside Leia's head."

Han frowned.

"You mean that his expectations of her as a princess will still determine her actions?"

Lando nodded.

"I'm afraid so," he said, "I dated a princess from that free spirited little planet called Sartorius and it was me, her, 10 body guards and three ladies in waiting."

"But most of Leia's entourage died on Alderaan," Han said, "not to mention all the royal family."

"It doesn't matter Han," Lando reasoned, "Leia's so brainwashed at this point, so indoctrinated in the expectations of her as a member of royalty to act in any other way but to treat and view you as a commoner."

Oh Han didn't much like the sound of that. After all, she had been treating him as an equal at least on the battlefield. Sure she had been a bit haughty at first but a few kisses had softened her up to him.

"If you want her, you're going to have to change your approach towards her," Lando counseled.

Han bristled.

"I don't take advice on women from guys like you who've been married three times."

Lando shrugged and ordered some more quaff.

"I loved them all until they walked away with half of everything I owned," he grumbled, "And they call me a pirate."

Han chuckled, and leaned back in his chair. Kicking back with his friend had been exactly what he needed. There had been too much seriousness in his life lately, Now that the Empire would no longer crimp on his lifestyle, it was time to have some fun.

Leia just crossed her regal arms and looked up at her brother. Usually he didn't dwarf her but he had borrowed his late father's boots to provide him with a couple inches of additional height and she found the difference in him unnerving. But more important right now was that the fledgling Alliance needed a spokesman and he was the only choice.

Blonde, blue eyes, a few battle scars, a cutting edge state of the art bionic arm, dress him up a bit and airbrush a few imperfections and the Alliance would have its charismatic leader. After all, with this thing called the Force, how could Luke fail, especially with that uncanny gift of persuasion that had been whispered about in the shadows as being a "jedi trick" that bordered on coercion.

Nonsense, Leia thought, if it could pull the fraying edges of the fabric of this new political movement into line, she would take it. Some of the more conservative leaders might have their reservations but seriously, could any of the naysayers come up with a better option?

"Come on, Luke please agree, we need you," Leia cajoled, "We're at a critical but potentially dangerous phase of our transformation. You are exactly what's needed now."

Luke sighed, pulling his robe closer around himself and then looking at his sister.

"Leia…the force doesn't work in that way," he said, "I must honor it through my own life and that means I must eschew all form of politics and anything deemed not spiritual."

Leia felt like rolling her eyes but restrained herself. She had to choose her words carefully, given the stakes involved.

"Luke, I don't know if we can succeed without your leadership."

But her brother hadn't been born yesterday, in fact he had only been born nary a minute before her. He gave her a knowing look.

"Leia…what you are not asking but implying is that I'm to use my jedi mind skills to sell this political movement to the masses out there seeking direction…If I did that, it wouldn't be an alliance at all, but a cult."

Leia brokered her frustration with a smile.

"Oh Luke it wouldn't be that at all," she said, "Why must you be so harsh with me, all I'm asking is that you, a born leader, be the person who performs all the duties of leadership including presiding over all governmental meetings, dedication of governmental institutions and regular addresses to the populace on our progress."

She thought it couldn't put forward any simpler than that. But he shook his tousled head slowly again.

"No my dear sister Leia…I must decline this invitation and I must take leave of the forest moon of Endor at once to partake of a spiritual sabbatical."

She kept her regal bearing in line, fully trained to deal with frustrating situations such as this one. She would give him such leave but she wouldn't do so with her plan. Given time and some reflection, surely her brother would realize where his duties lie.

"When will I see you again?"

He embraced her and she felt the warmth of the goodness in him as she kissed him on the cheek. She watched him gather the cloak around him once more and disappear into some mysteriously appearing fog which she hadn't noticed earlier but then there were so many things about Luke she still didn't understand.

Sadness filled her heart where there had once been joy because if he wouldn't lead the new Alliance to a more enlightened age, then who would?


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm too sexy for this shirt, too sexy for this shirt, so sexy it hurts…"

Han had never heard the lyrics to that particular song before but then he had been too busy saving the galaxy from the evil Empire and so hadn't had much time for recreational pursuits such as listening to music at the many underground clubs that had sprouted up beneath the radar of the occupational forces.

But now he had been making up for lost time because he had spent the morning on a photo shoot for the new calendar spread that would be spotlighting different heroes of the recent battle that had ended decades of tyrannical rule. The no nonsense director and two men operating cameras had been either barking orders or clicking snapshots of what they deemed to be his better side. Now Han had always been proud of his physique, having honed it through his life as a smuggler and later as a general in the Alliance, from his six-pack abs to his rather impressive biceps. He had begun the shoot by wearing his handy uniform that he used to fly his ship and then as item after item of clothing had been shed, he had been down to just him and his strategically placed blaster. He didn't know what he would do if they took his weapon away from him leaving him there buck naked.

He had been talked into doing the photo shoot after a couple more enterprising bounty hunters had come after him seeking payment for some impressive gambling debts he had jettisoned from one end of the cosmos to the next. He knew he couldn't disgrace Leia's efforts to rebuild a new and more improved Republic by being the target of salacious gossip. They had been watching the gala-vision to see all the scandals that broke across the galaxy when the hi-jinks of some of the corrupt politicians came to light, the ones who had sold their souls to the Empire.

But Han couldn't worry about that, he had to get himself photographed, pick up some smooth cash and pay off these debts before Leia got wind of them. It was bad enough that every royal monarchy in the galaxy had an eligible eldest son for her to consider for marriage to merge different dynasties together, to secure an advantage in the new Republic before its constitution had even been drafted and ratified by a governing board yet to be compiled.

Luke had vetoed all requests to slip into the role of the charismatic leader who would bind the contentious groups of the alliance together not to mention bringing in all those flaky neutralists. The itinerary drafted for Leia looked brutal enough, over 100 planets visited in two months. Not much time for her and Han to work out the parameters of their burgeoning relationship. But then he had known what he had been getting into when he paired up with her to begin with, trying to find some warmth on the frozen Hell of Hoth. She sure could kiss considering she had only kissed one man who hadn't turned out to be a blood relative and Han seriously thought she had a hot side of her that had only begun to be tapped into…and he didn't want the blossoming of that side of the princess to be endangered by her royal and not so royal duties. Han had always been a slink in the background, hang out in dimly lit dens of ill repute kind of guy and he didn't know if he could handle the fishbowl environment of hanging around with the princess of the galaxy…but he did know he loved her.

"All right Han…we're going to need to take your gun…"

He looked at his blaster, the one thing that stood between him and…he sighed and gave it up and the flashbulbs started popping.

Leia sighed as she looked at her planning assistant, Angelica, who being a cross between a human and a blue-skinned alien with fuzzy antennae had attracted attention on the forest moon of Endor. But now that they were back on the horrible re-capitalized Coruscant, she had found herself surrounded by an assortment of aliens and humans from all over the galaxy. Everyone it seemed wanted a piece of her these days and her days and nights just didn't include enough hours to accommodate everyone's demands.

Not to mention all the invitations she was getting to attend royal balls on various worlds, which loosely translated meant the meat market for monarchs and their heirs. She knew as a princess even one coming from a planet that was now an asteroid belt, she held considerable fascination for many a royal family and that the kings and queens on these planets would be scouting her out as a suitable mate for their eldest male offspring.

"Are you listening Leia," Angelica scolded, "This is what's going to get you through the 30 day program, that's when the most effective leadership can be accomplished during the so-called honeymoon period."

Leia just nodded wearily. She had been at this all morning. Royalty training classes for her had once again been in full swing, beginning a couple of minutes after she set foot back in this urbanized planet. She had been shacking up in an impressive looking mansion on the outskirts of the center of the city in a neighborhood which had been impressive at one time but more recently had fallen in a state of decay and neglect. Rebuilding had started on the sector because eventually most of the ambassadors, diplomats and senators would be living here in equally impressive looking estates. Han had taken off that morning on a mysterious errand, one that he had been very tightlipped about as had Chewy who had been fixing up Han's ship in a hanger not too far away from the capitol building.

Angelica might not know this, but Leia had hidden a stash of moonshine quaff from the forest moon of Endor and had been imbibing it, whenever her assistant had left the room to handle some detail. After a couple swigs, warmth and lightness had permeated Leia's body and mind. She smiled a lot more as Angelica droned on with the instruction on the history of the galaxy which Leia already knew and about the social ethics and mores of over 150 species on a quadrant of planets and moons in one system. Leia had to pack pretty soon to be prepared to travel there to meet with the newly added leaderships to the Republic. As that system had sat in the midst of the largest neutral zone, they were new to the program and she had to sell it to them because several of the planets had impressive mining industries which could add plenty of capital to the Republic's treasure chest.

"Leia…are you even here…."

She nodded, but a bit more slowly and Angelica's eyes narrowed, her finely tuned set of three nostrils sniffed.

"What is that I smell…," she said, walking closer to where Leia had stashed her quaff. She opened the drawer and pulled it out with her sucker tipped fingers.

"You've been drinking…again…Leia when are you going to admit you have a problem?"

Leia shook her head.

"I just needed something to take the edge off," she said, "I'm exhausted from all this training and I haven't seen Han all day."

Angelica had a distasteful look.

"You know, you…he…you can't engage in any sexual interaction with him or no future king in the galaxy will want you…"

Leia rolled her eyes.

"How damn archaic," she said, "How do you know…I …he haven't already partaken of such liberties?"

Angelica folded her blue arms.

"It is known that you and he have not consummated your relationship if you call it that yet…and you mustn't…the entire Republic rests on your purity."

Leia blinked…did she just hear Angelica right? Since when did they return to that archaic period before the end of the Empire?

"But I can't…he's the one I love…"

Angelica hissed.

"What do you know of such things," she said, "Besides for a princess, duty comes before salacious undertakings."

Leia sighed, damn she hadn't known these crazy and repressive rules before she sighed up for this duty…wait a minute, she hadn't even signed up, all this was forced upon her. She knew that her twin, Luke as a member of the Jedi had taken on a vow of chastity but she was a red blooded woman and could do no such thing. Besides, what would Han think, when he discovered the Republic wanted her to marry into royalty?

He wouldn't like it at all. He would tell her to screw the Republic and then realized that was a poor choice of words. Oh, when had life gotten so complicated, you defeat a repressive regimes only to realize that the real struggles had just gotten started.


	4. Chapter 4

Leia sighed as she lay on top of her most uncomfortable bed stashed away in the royal suite she now called home while she continued her royalty training. Angelica interrupted the strict regimen every so often to provide an update on the status of the creation of a new society.

It would serve as the replacement for the repressive and totalitarian government that they had just defeated, with the last of the prisoners of war heading off to the salt mines of the Dragoman system. Good riddance, she thought as images of them slaving in meager attire under the blazing twin suns for the rest of their lives filled her mind.

But she had met with the ad hoc council this morning and they had agreed that they must avoid the mistakes made by the leaders of the Old Republic, meaning that they needed to remain a vibrant democratic republic and not turn into a bureaucratic and corrupt political entity that would gradually erode until it too was overthrown by a fascist regime.

She though more of her time needed to be spent working on the development of the new government which would be of parliamentarian style rather than waste precious hours each day relearning how to be a member of royalty. There had been talk of restructuring the new galactic society as a circle of monarchies consisting of the surviving royal families including that of Alderaan. But Leia knew the pitfalls of such practices first hand and though she had dearly loved her adoptive family, she had no desire to be part of that system.

All her life she had been the dutiful and responsible daughter of Bail Organa, matured by experience and training and wise beyond her years…but something had been missing. She had given all of her energy, her time and nearly her life to the rebellion but now that it had ended, she discovered she wanted more from her life than just adhering to the regime assigned to her by her birth.

Or what most of the galaxy thought had been the circumstances of her entrance into a royal family. Her adoption still remained a secret known by few survivors mainly Han and Luke and she had decided to keep it under wraps. Besides if everyone around her who looked at her as a leader knew she was the secret child of Darth Vader and a dead woman who'd once been a queen, her life would be ruined. It would be almost as bad if anyone knew she and Luke were blood relatives. Now Luke was viewed by nearly everyone in their organization as a true galactic hero, an icon for the new age but people also viewed him as being more than a bit eccentric. Just as many people viewed the whole Jedi Knight deal as more than a bit suspect.

She didn't need that to rub off on her…not right now. Not with so many decisions to make, not to mention what her new wardrobe would look like, which seasonal balls she would attend and what to call the new system of planets.

Not to mention that there were some unenlightened men out there who believed that her only meaningful contribution despite her leadership would be to marry into a powerful royal family and cement the band of kingdoms into a powerful player in the government's new format.

Angelica seemed pressed in that direction and Leia grew weary of the pressure her assistant put on her to think of her future, which for Angelica met dolling herself up and marrying some prince of a planet somewhere. But that just sounded so archaic to Leia who after all had a smoking hot ex-pirate turned rebellion hero who'd fallen in love with her. She sighed trying to get comfortable, remembering how it had felt when she'd kissed Han for the first time inside his spaceship, just the two of them fumbling their way to each other and when his lips had touched hers, it had sent heat searing inside of her snowsuit. Damn C3PO for interrupting him just when he'd been about to slip his hand up her jacket.

Not that his roaming fingers hadn't already met her breasts, which happened when they were making out inside their little tree hut on the Endor moon. He'd wanted to go all the way and she knew how much when he placed his body on top of hers but she just couldn't do it. Not that she didn't want to feel his lips on her mouth and his hardness inside of her but the responsibilities which had weighed on her shoulders for so long hadn't left.

She couldn't park him just because he wanted to get horizontal with her and she with him. Maybe later when the political situation calmed down somewhat, until then she'd have to rely on her skill at pleasing herself, while imagining the dark haired pirate's hands were stroking her skin, sending her to new heights.

"Princess Leia…"

Angelica had entered the room and Leia just looked at her irritated.

"Don't call me that…only Han can do that and only when….oh never mind."

Her assistant just sighed.

"Where is that scoundrel anyway," she said, "I heard he was gambling with that Lando character and drinking up a shipload of quaff."

Leia frowned.

"I called the bar," she said, "They said he wasn't there. He took off after the game."

Angelica shook her head.

"How long are you going to let that…that gigolo hang around you…he's nothing but trouble."

"He saved our rebellion more than once," Leia said, "Really Angelica, this snobby side of you isn't very pleasant."

Angelica looked anything but apologetic.

"I'm just looking out for you and your future," she said, "and I don't see a place for him in it.'"

Leia sat up straight on her bed and folded her arms, looking defiant.

"Well I do. He and I…we love each other and we're going to get married…some day."

Angelica wrinkled her forehead.

"Oh really…I wasn't aware he'd proposed."

Leia sighed.

"Well he hasn't but he knows we can't get married now anyway, not with everything that's going on with the government being formed."

Angelica just fumed and really Leia felt like slapping her for her words against the man she loved who was…where was he anyway?

After her assistant walked out, she realized she needed an answer to that question.

Han sighed after getting his first installment for his modeling gig and he swore to himself he'd save it to pay off his debts and not take it to the next gambling match. While heading back towards the civic hall to hopefully meet up with Leia for some quiet time, he passed the mediation garden where he saw a robed figure who could only be one person.

Luke.

He walked over there and saw the younger man his hands clasped, his face reflective and his lips moving, uttering some unintelligible words.

"What's going on Luke?"

The man ignored him and Han just shrugged as he sat on a nearby bench.

"Okay then…you want to hear about my day."

Luke didn't answer so Han figured that he hadn't objected.

"You know I love Leia more than I can breathe…but all these responsibilities and titles that are being thrust on her all at once…it's a bit much Luke. I mean I knew what I was getting myself into by shacking up with her…well living together because there's no…well never mind I'm not sure you've gotten any lately either…'

Luke smiled but Han didn't know why so he just took it as encouragement to keep talking.

"Well anyway, I was thinking about popping the question but I'm a bit short on cash flow paying that line of creditors off and she's…she's used to a certain style of living so I got myself another job…"

Luke looked up at him, his wizened face peeking from his hood and Han swore for a moment there, he looked just like that crazy old coot who had hired him to fly him to Aldernaan so long ago.

"Leia must be trained in the force just as I was…or this government will not last."

Han looked taken aback. He hadn't even gotten to the part on how weird he thought the whole Jedi deal was and Leia's whole relationship with her brother where they didn't even have to talk to each other, they could just read each other's minds.

"Luke, I don't know if she has the time for that on her busy schedule," Han said, "She barely has time for me."

The Jedi looked troubled then.

"Then we'll all die…millions upon millions of people dead if she renounces her familial heritage.

What Luke said just overwhelmed Han and he just stood there staring at him not believing that the fate of the universe rested on his girlfriend becoming a Jedi knight. No way, no how, especially since it was a very isolated existence which apparently included a celibacy clause.

No, that definitely wouldn't work out in their relationship, but if Luke told her the fate of the galaxy lay in her hands would she bite?

Han sighed as he sat in the meditation garden thinking she just might.


	5. Chapter 5

Leia couldn't believe her eyes…they must be paying tricks on her. She had been watching the holo-screen while she'd been getting ready for her latest council meeting and a familiar looking body had flashed in front of her.

She had been slipping on her royal blue gown that fell just below her knees after sliding on her sheer stockings. Normally she didn't dress so formally for cabinet meetings but Angelica had advised her that there might be some guests appearing to lobby on behalf of economic development on their planet system. She did wear a few wisps of lingerie underneath her regal attire but that would be a surprise for Han later on if he showed up.

Oh wait…no she couldn't give herself to him or any man until she was royally betrothed to an appropriate groom, probably someone with some familial or political ties to some royal family somewhere across the galaxy. She would have to start thinking about that part of her future pretty soon before the scions of economic and political power started putting pressure on her to conform to the norms of her social standing.

What economic and political power, she thought. Everything had fallen apart along with the Evil Empire. Although the dictatorship had kept many a planet's economic industries stable through relentless and very regimented control, many individuals engaged in it, alien or human had felt stifled by the brutal control of the Emperor and his minions. His death and that of Vader's along with the collapse of the dominos that formulated the Imperial forces had sent most industries spinning into total chaos.

So she didn't know what she would do to help mediate any type of economic engagements but she could listen to their sales pitches anyway. Along with the rest of the fledgling council.

Where was Han, she wondered, not having seen him though the rumors had already hit her that he was playing some weird hybrid of sabaac and poker with Lando and some unsavory characters again. He never had completely shed the scoundrel inside him and though she'd never admit it publicly, she hoped that he never would.

But her thoughts left her as her eyes fixated on the holo-screen where she saw a man's body saunter across the screen. The lean but muscular build of what must be an incredible hunk of man filled her view and she felt heat flush her cheeks and her palms grow sweaty.

Just looking at her made her feel incredible aroused and yet as her breath came more rapidly, her eyes narrowed because…because….

He looked kind of familiar.

The swirly whorls of dark hair on his muscular chest, his flattened abdomen and those shoulders….oh the blood rushed through her just then making her feel more than flushed. And then the camera dropped and oh…her cheeks felt hot as she found herself gazing at a part of a man…hmmm….she knew what she was looking at but…her hands fidgeted as she wanted to touch it…her mouth…then she felt embarrassed.

Winter, her handmaiden rushed inside and saw immediately what had captured Leia's attention.

"What's Han doing prancing butt naked on the holo-screen?"

Leia's eyes suddenly widened.

Say what? Was that really Han that was flashing on her screen naked as the day he'd been born right now?

But first things first….she turned to Winter and scrutinized her.

"Wait…how do you know it's Han?"

Winter just folded her arms and rolled her eyes at Leia.

"How could I not know," she said, "He's got rather…distinctive features don't you think?"

Leia feel that wave of heat rushing through her again as she sat on her bed.

"What do you mean?"

Winter sighed, plopping on a chair near Leia.

"You know…don't you?"

Leia just sighed and looked away. But she didn't want her longtime confidante to know this about her so she shifted the subject.

"Why on earth is he strutting around without any clothes," she said, "He must know that the paparazzi are just looking for opportunities to make me look bad…it's bad enough they already think he's a gigolo."

Winter's gaze sharpened.

"Really? Well I can see why…."

Leia arched one of her brows at her.

"Well entirely based on his looks of course but Leia, does it really matter what they think?"

Leia hedged.

"Maybe….it's just that it's a very sensitive time right now…politically speaking…we're forming a new…a better government. "

Winter blinked her eyes which were all colors of the rainbow depending on her mood.

"You know that they're going to want you to find a more suitable consort."

Leia sighed, lying back on her bed knowing that to be the truth.

"I know but Han for all his faults…his lack of breeding and manners…his uncouth style and questionable wardrobe…I want him."

Winter nodded.

"Then you'd better come up with a good appeal for the council," she said, "Because they have already placed the call to prospective consorts for you across the galaxy…even to the five major princes of the outward sector of planets."

Leia sucked in her breath, sensing that the council must be growing more than a little desperate to be initiating a hunt so soon. It didn't leave her much time….but then…well not all the princes out there were unhandsome.

Winter got up off of her chair and flicked a braid of hair off of her shoulder.

"You need to get ready for the council…just in case."

Leia sat up and felt the gravity of her situation hit her. She got up turning her back to the familiar looking man on the holo-screen. If Han did return after indulging his proclivities for vice, he would have some explaining to do.

Han fell asleep on the cot after finishing another glass of quaff. It was too sweet for him, tart on the tongue when he usually went for spicy hot liquor but the way it relaxed his muscles…a languor overtook him as he fell on the bed.

A green skinned two headed alien woman began his massage…sliding his robe off of him bearing his shoulders and his back. She poured some decadent oils on his skin and began working her magic with her hands…sending waves of heat through his body.

But the visions that soon filled his mind became more lurid. In his mind's eye, he saw Leia standing in front of him with some sheer gauze wrapped around her in the form of a strapless dress, sheathing her lush body. Lightly muscled yet curvy the way he had realized too late in life that he liked his women. She smiled at him, her dark brown hair spilling in waves around her shoulders and down her back. She so very rarely wore it down, free like that in ways that intoxicated a man to stroke it with his fingers before wrapping the silken locks around them.

He stroked her face, so smooth and then their lips met willingly enough…tasting, teasing and yet testing each other's wills at the same time. She smiled in between, her eyes dancing as she slid her arms around his waist.

"Han…."

"Leia…"

The woman doing the massage stopped for a moment.

"Who's Leia….?"

Han sighed.

"Oh a woman I know…."

The alien continued with her attentions and Han's mind returned to where he had begun sliding his tongue across Leia's lips, tracing their boundaries and teasing the seam of her mouth…daring it to open to receive him. But she teased him right back, not letting him in. Even as her hands wandered underneath his shirt and soon enough, their coolness hit the warmth of his chest and he groaned as she traced around his nipples, gliding her fingers across his firm stomach.

His own hands slid down her gauze as he parted it with his fingers, just right as if not to tear it. Her breasts stood pink and firm in front of him, her rosy nipples already starting to harden. He groaned as he felt himself grow harder…as her hands glided down him further still until…..

"Hey Han…you busy?"

Han looked up at Luke from where he lay and saw the young earnest man dressed in his Jedi robe attire with his light saber hooked at his sash.

"Uh…kind of Luke, is it important?"

The alien stepped away and appraised Luke carefully.

"Ah…a Jedi Master in my parlor…what an honor," she said, "I'll leave you two alone to discuss business."

Luke's face grew more serious after the alien left.

"What is it Luke," Han said, "You already told me that Leia needs to drop everything to do her Jedi training and we both know she won't do it."

Luke nodded gravely.

"I know and I still need you to change her mind…the galaxy depends on it…there's a new threat."

Han frowned, wasn't that the way it usually worked? Vanquish one form of evil despot and another emerged in its place?

"I don't know if I can change her mind Luke," he said, "She's adamant and she usually does as she pleases."

Luke tilted his face.

"The council wants to marry her off to one of the princes…to cement the partnership of the five royal families…will you let her do this?"

Han hadn't given it much thought. Except that surely she didn't involve herself in those situations, thinking it all too antiquated for her. Luke just stared at him in that way of his that was so unnerving.

"Han you've got to stop her," Luke said, "If she marries one of those princes she can't do her Jedi training."

Han had bigger problems than her just not being a Jedi Master. If she hooked up with a prince, she couldn't hook up with him and he'd been thinking a lot lately of why he did want to hook up with her.

But first things first…what to do about Luke's request….


End file.
